Having previously struggled with reading and writing, she had found little things like reading a recipe book or helping her children with their homework difficult.
Mrs Braxton (38) has been attending Literacy North Otago "on and off" for about six years.
Initially, she wanted help to get her driver's licence so it would be easier to look after her four children.
She now has her learner's licence and is working on getting her restricted licence.
She said she had come a long way since first walking through the doors of the learning centre in Ribble St, and both her reading and her writing were improving.
Now her youngest child was at school, she intended looking for employment and she was much more confident, she said.
To mark Adult Learners Week this week, Mrs Braxton received a makeover.
She went to Fashion Focus, where she learned how to put clothes and colours together - "It built up my self-esteem as well" - and had her makeup done at North End Pharmacy, which was "awesome".
On Wednesday, she attended an adult learners awards ceremony at Te Whare Koa, where about 30 certificates were presented.
On Thursday, she performed as part of a singing group at a celebratory morning tea at Literacy North Otago.
Literacy North Otago had become a large part of her life - "It's like my second home, really" - and she was usually there every morning, from Monday to Friday.
She could now confidently help her children with their homework, whereas previously they would come to her with a word they did not understand and she could not either, which was "frustrating".
She encouraged others to seek help if they were struggling with reading or writing.
"It's just getting yourself out there and learning," she said.
Patrick Barry (50) has been attending Literacy North Otago since mid-July.
He became unemployed at the end of May and had gone for several job interviews before deciding he needed to do something positive and practical.
It was suggested he go along to Literacy North Otago.
He already had a desire to improve his handwriting and mathematics skills.
Since attending, he has been encouraged to look at what he wants to do for the rest of his life and what sort of study could make that possible.
He discovered he was interested in teaching and is now going through the process of becoming an early childhood educator - a far cry from his long-time involvement in the engineering industry.
Mr Barry will start some distance learning next year.
The encouragement at Literacy North Otago had been "a great inspiration" and it was a "super-encouraging" environment, he said.
Mr Barry was impressed with the variety of people who used Literacy North Otago, from older people wanting to get to grips with new technology, to people wanting to get their driver's licence and learners for whom English was a second language.
"Everyone's different here but everyone's catered for," he said.
